Colonel Mohsen Khadour, the 2nd in command of the special forces unit, the Desert Hawks and a top officer of the Military Intelligence was killed in the fighting.

The UN General Assembly passed a resolution by 125 to 13, with 47 abstentions, condemning “the grave deterioration of the human rights situation” in Syria.

It demanded that the government stop attacks on civilians with barrel bombs, and condemned the use of chemical weapons and the practice of torture in detention centers.

Bashar al-Jaafari, the Syrian ambassador to the UN, said the resolution was biased and politically motivated.

The Syrian Cabinet approved a bill to allocate 50% of State job vacancies to the families of dead soldiers, soldiers who have been injured and are on full disability, and to “those who are of equivalent status”.